


Yours Is A Face I Miss

by popkin16



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Crack, First Time, Humor, M/M, Not to be taken seriously
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-14
Updated: 2018-06-14
Packaged: 2019-05-23 05:19:28
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,318
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14927873
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/popkin16/pseuds/popkin16
Summary: It starts as a joke, but soon everyone has their very own cardboard cut-out Harry.





	Yours Is A Face I Miss

**Author's Note:**

> No joke, this was finished in July of last year. I know, I've been hoarding it like a dragon hoards its treasures. 
> 
> This started as a ridiculous conversation between myself and [placesbetween](https://archiveofourown.org/users/PlacesBetween). It's not nearly as hilarious as it was when we were discussing it via skype, but writing is hard and I am lame. This was also beta'd by the incomparable placesbetween, and I have just now gotten around to making the suggested edits. Any remaining mistakes are my own - it's really hard to edit it a fic when a year has passed and you've lost the groove of it.
> 
> Have fun.

It begins as a joke, a way to lighten the tension and stress Team Flash carries with them daily. Cisco is man enough to admit a bit of it is revenge too. Barry and Caitlin had been teasing him about his crush, and while the ribbing was given with fondness, Cisco can't let them get away with it. It just isn't done. It won't stand.

So Cisco plans, and he waits, and when the time is right, he lurks around the corner from the cortex, cardboard cutout in hand. He chose Harry's angriest pose - arms crossed, eyes narrowed threateningly, lips pressed into a scowl - one that has caused Barry at his cheeriest to quail under.

Cisco hears Caitlin and Barry heading toward the doorway, speculating on where to go to lunch. He counts their steps and when they're in place, Cisco slides the Harry cutout sideways so his head pops around the corner. Caitlin screams and there's the telltale burst of air as Barry uses his speed to get away. Cisco collapses against the wall, helpless laughter bubbling up and out of him. He drops the cutout onto the floor and presses a hand to his mouth, trying to muffle his laughter.

After a moment, Barry peeks his head around the corner. His cheeks are flushed with embarrassment, but even he is having trouble holding back his smile.

"Not funny, Cisco!" Caitlin grumbles from the Cortex. "Where on earth did you get that thing?"

"I made it," Cisco replies, laughter trailing off. Barry offers him a hand up, which Cisco takes gratefully. They share a grin. "Isn't it great?"

"Terrifyingly real," Barry agrees. Caitlin pokes at it with her foot. She smiles, reluctantly. Before anyone can continue, there's the sound of footsteps. Joe and Harry take the situation in with a glance, Harry's mouth quirking sideways. Joe grinning, wide and amused, claps Cisco on the shoulder.

"Putting your skills to good use, I see," Joe compliments.

"I got 'em good," Cisco brags, preening over Joe's praise.

"Should I be offended that my cutout so terrified you both?" Harry asked, raising an eyebrow. He leans down to grab the cutout and stand it against the wall. Cutout Harry is much shorter than real life Harry, Cisco notes.

"Not at all," Caitlin rushes to reassure him. She shakes her head and smiles. "Cisco just had a well-considered plan of attack and an impeccable sense of timing."

"It was the Angry Face," Barry explains, capital letters obvious in his voice. "We live in dread of meeting such an expression in a dark alley."

"Fearsome," Caitlin puts in.

"Angry Face?" Joe asks, and Barry eagerly launches into the story of the time they got really drunk and named Harry's expressions, coming up with six different ones. Cisco has privately named at least twice as many, but he's made it something of a game to watch Harry. Not everyone can be so dedicated, Cisco tells himself.

Harry's lips look pinched, but Cisco is about eighty-eight - no, make that ninety-two percent sure it's from holding in a smile. He considers the cutout for a moment, gaze sweeping over it, and Cisco hopes the level of detail he put into it isn't telling. But Harry just grabs it and tucks it under his arm, ready to carry it off.

"Hey, wait - where are you going with that?" Cisco demands, reaching out to grab cutout-Harry's foot.

"I'm going to use it for target practice," Harry says calmly. "Unless you have other plans for it?"

Cisco's face flames inexplicably and he lets go of the cutout as if it burnt him. "No, no, I just - was going to use it to scare them again."

"C'mon, Cisco," Barry laughs, "Like that's going to work a second time." He places his arm around Cisco's shoulder and steers him past Joe and Harry, toward the elevators. Caitlin trails behind, extending an invitation to the other two. Cisco smiles.

Challenge accepted.  
  


*O*

With the first cutout gleefully destroyed by Harry, Cisco has to make another. The process itself is easy, but choosing which pose this Harry should have takes the most time. Cisco is afraid he's giving this way more thought than it needs, but he still finds himself spending a day going through different shots of Harry taken via security cameras. Cisco reminds himself that allowing time to pass between cutout attacks will only make the next one unexpected.

STAR labs was equipped to handle research for a variety of fields, including chemistry. The showers located on the chemistry level were originally intended for emergencies only, but worked just as well for everyday use. He knew it would be a matter of time before someone had to use them, though he'd forgotten that Harry - and Jesse, when she was visiting - lived at STAR labs and thus would use the showers more frequently.

Jesse gives him the stink eye after handing over the body of the second cutout. She sets the separated head onto the computer table next to Cisco, and points at him. She's less than intimidating in her oversized pajamas decorated in lightning bolts, hair unbrushed.

"It is _on_!" She threatens, a gleam of anticipation in her eyes, and despite her appearance, Cisco feels his heart stop for a minute. The problem with speedsters is they can set up a prank faster than Cisco can blink, and he has no doubt she can - and will- enlist Wally in her schemes. Speed and intelligence; a deadly combination. Still, the look on her face when she sped in, a cutout of her father in one hand, had the entire room stifling their smiles.

Cisco is about to take the cutout, but Harry swoops in and carries it off. Later, Cisco notices his blowtorch is missing, but is determined not to ask. He does wonder if Harry's savagery in disposing of the cutouts says something about Harry's feelings about himself, but that is a can of worms Cisco isn't going to open. He could barely deal with his self-image issues, let alone someone else's. Still, it amazes him sometimes that Harry feels such dislike for himself. He's smart, hot as hell, and beneath that cranky exterior was actually a pretty cool guy. Harry definitely wasn't perfect, but as far as Cisco was concerned, his good qualities _far_ outweighed his bad.

Jesse's revenge is swift and in keeping with the theme. He isn't sure where she gets the cutout, but she's certainly makes an impact with her placement. Cisco yelps and falls off the bed when he peels back his covers, ready for a night of sleep, and finds a cutout of Harry staring back at him. Cisco has been on guard at the lab and such betrayal, such trickery in his own home is unexpected. He pouts the entire next day until Jesse brings him a coffee and a donut, though she refuses to apologize, a trait she no doubt inherited from her father. Cisco grudgingly has to give her props, though: that was a hell of a move.

He does keep the cutout though, and refuses to hand it over when Harry makes demanding noises. Harry's sleepy face and rumpled form is just too much for Cisco to resist.

Once Jesse figures out the secret to cardboard cutouts, the word spreads among the others. Barry plants a cutout right behind Cisco's desk when he is deep in his work, only for Cisco to turn around and fling a wrench at the looming shape. No matter what anybody says, he does _not_ scream in a high pitched manner. Wally hides a cutout behind Caitlin's desk, startling her when she glances up to find him there. Iris happily puts one in the speed lab, which results in Wally running into a wall. All of them disappear with Harry, who has the look of a man under siege. His long suffering sighs and refusal to laugh with the others worries Cisco.

Perhaps using Harry's image to scare the others wasn't the most well thought out idea. Cisco knew Harry had issues with Eobard Thawne stealing his likeness and putting them through hell, despite Harry's firm, loud remonstrations that he was not _that_ Harrison Wells, but his own man. Nobody associates Harry with Thawne anymore, but using his likeness to scare the others seems kind of...cruel, now that Cisco thinks about it.

Cisco wonders if he should bring it up with the others but just when he's decided to mention it, Harry announces his need to return to Earth-2 for a month. Suddenly Cisco's workshop is empty, the Cortex free of bickering and thrown markers. It doesn't sit right with him. Even the others seem a little subdued, which makes Cisco feel a little better. He isn't the only one who misses Harry.  
  


*O*

It starts, just like last time, as a joke. Cisco misses seeing Harry's grumpy face in his workshop and it's practically routine to make a cutout these days. He sets it up at Harry's station in the shop, comforted by the look of concentration on the cardboard face. If Cisco glances at it out of the corner of his eye, he can almost believe Harry is actually there. Nobody mentions it at first, but Cisco notices Barry choosing to sit near it when he comes in.

They are discussing the latest criminal meta in Cisco's workshop as he works to build a device that will send out a stunning blast, stopping any being without the proper protective gear in their place. Despite the seriousness of the situation, conversation has turned toward a comedy movie released last week, and without thinking, Cisco reaches out and grabs the cutout-Harry by the shoulders.

"This is no time for jokes," he says in his best imitation of Harry's serious voice. He rocks the piece of cardboard in place to mimic movement. "Stay focused on the problem in front of you; you're allowing yourself to be distracted."

"Harry is right," Barry says, nodding seriously. His lips twitching. "We can see the movie _after_ we've defeated Changeling."

"Hey, thanks man," Wally says jokingly to cardboard Harry, "Keepin' us on track."

Caitlin pats it fondly.

Somehow it becomes natural to include cardboard-Harry in their conversations. It's comforting to provide the snide remarks, backhanded compliments, and oddly encouraging comments that are missing from their day to day life. Cisco has even made a couple more cutouts and stationed them around the labs.

Joe freezes in the doorway one afternoon, mouth open, half a sentence out of his mouth. Cisco holds out a party hat in welcome. Everyone else is already wearing theirs, standing at the ready next to the table with gifts and cake. It's Caitlin's birthday, and in celebration there was cake and ice cream for lunch. Joe takes the party hat slowly, though he does not put it on.

"What's going on?" He asks, slowly.

Cisco rocks on his heels, smiling. "I know we made plans to have a nice dinner tonight, but we thought we could do something informal and delicious for lunch."

Joe stares at cutout-Harry, who is wearing a party hat as well, tilted at a jaunty angle. It had been a bitch getting it on, but Cisco isn't an engineer for nothing. The curling, thick mustache drawn over his upper lip is maybe a bit much, but Hispanic Harry know how to have a good time.

"I respect you all as intelligent, responsible adults," Joe says finally, "And I know some things don't translate over different generations. But this is just _weird_."

Joe shakes his head when they laugh, reluctantly amused. Wally goes to grab the bean bags and blankets from the closet where they were stashed while Cisco sets up the movie projector, and then they're settling in with cake and ice cream, Caitlin's favorite movie queuing up. Cisco is squashed between Iris and the birthday girl, and as he listens to Wally and Joe argue good naturedly about the best flavor of popcorn, Cisco feels the warm press of affection for everyone here.

He glances to the left where cutout-Harry had been propped and counts down the days until Harry's return.  
  


*O*

By the time Harry _does_ return, the use of the cutouts has evolved. Everyone has claimed their own, a favorite they carry around with them. Cisco leaves Sleepy Harry leaning against the main computers, but Caitlin has hers tucked behind her lab desk. Harry wanders in just as she points to her computer screen and begins muttering to her cutout. Harry stops in the doorway to stare, looking taken aback. Cisco shares a look with Barry and presses his lips together to hold in the laugh. He slides down in his seat, getting comfortable.

"What are you doing?" Harry asks finally, causing Caitlin to jump, banging her knee on the table. She rubs her knee absently, turning to look at who interrupted her.

"Harry!" She exclaims brightly, limping over to give him a hug. Harry returns it awkwardly, as though he isn't sure what she's doing, wrapping her arms around him, but Cisco has long since known how impossible it is to resist a Caitlin hug.

"Welcome back," She says warmly, and Harry jerks his head in a nod. He tilts his head toward the cutout and raises an eyebrow. Caitlin flushes a little, crossing her arms over her chest.

"What? It helps to have someone to bounce ideas off of."

"And you chose my cardboard likeness?" Harry asks skeptically. His fingers twitch, like he is itching to destroy it. Feeling panic begin to twist through him - both at the thought of real Harry realizing Cisco had his very own cutout, and at the thought of said cutout being destroyed, Cisco begins to make plans on getting Sleepy Harry out of the workshop and back to his apartment safely. He has no idea where Jesse got the picture to create Sleepy Harry, so if it's destroyed, Cisco has no way of replacing it. Barry wanders over to Cisco's cutout-Harry and slouches against the table near it.

"He gives good advice," Caitlin says, smiling. "He lets me rant."

"He's _fake_ ," Harry insists, looking absolutely bewildered. He runs one hand through his messy hair. The curls move right back to where they'd been before, all fluff and chaos. Cisco's fingers twitch with the desire to touch.

"Hey, don't talk about her Harry like that," Cisco objects, standing. Harry jerks his head to stare at Cisco, clearly unaware that he'd been in the room the whole time. Harry gives Cisco a quick once over - probably to check that he is still in one piece, Cisco reminds himself. He was definitely not checking him out. Harry is crazy protective of the people he cares about, and Cisco - and the others - have been included in that group.

" _Her_ Harry?" He demands, glancing between Cisco, Caitlin, and the cutout.

"We all have one," Barry explains. He wraps an arm around Sleepy Harry's neck and pulls it closer to him, forcing it off balance.

"That one's mine!" Cisco says loudly, making grabby hands as he hurries across the room to tug him out from under Barry's arm. "I get Sleepy Harry. You get Grumpy Harry."

"But why do I get Grumpy Harry? He's glaring at me," Barry asks sadly.

"He motivates you, remember? To fight crime!"

"Oh yeah," Barry brightens. He glances longingly at Cisco's cutout, who may not be so good at motivating but is very good at comforting, in Cisco's opinion. Cisco pulls it closer to him, in case Barry gets any ideas.

"Why do I spend my time with you people?" Harry asks nobody in particular, and nobody pays him any mind.

"Wait, where did my Harry go?" Barry asks plaintively, and Cisco loves him, he really does, but Barry knows nothing about the proper care and feeding of cutout Harry's - the first rule of which is _always know your Harry's location_. Amateur.  
  


*O*

"Don't even think about touching that," Cisco says without looking away from his computer monitor. Naturally, Harry doesn't listen, picking up Sleepy Harry with a frown. He flips it around, clearly hoping the other side will be blank, but Cisco is a professional and it is of course double sided. If Harry had lasers for eyes, Sleepy Harry would be a pile of ash on the floor, like in many a cartoon right now. Cisco hauls ass when Harry reaches for the flare gun and yanks it out of his hands.

"Hey, no. No. That is _mine_ , and I'm putting my foot down. Use my stuff, throw it around, but I draw the line at you destroying my property, dude." Cisco grabs onto Sleepy Harry and yanks, but Harry refuses to let go. A tug of war ensues, with Harry grimacing and Cisco yelling at him, through gritted teeth, as if he is a naughty pet.

"You don't even need this piece of crap," Harry argues. He gives a strong tug, forcing Cisco to move a couple steps closer.

"Maybe I just like it, huh?" Cisco yanks back.

"I'm back now, you don't need a ridiculous piece of cardboard that looks just like me for anything!" Harry growls. Cisco isn't so sure about that. He _liked_ being able to look at Harry whenever he wanted, without having to worry that Harry would notice and make things awkward.

"It's mine, I can do whatever I want with it," Cisco says firmly, and throws his weight into his next pull. Harry grunts at the force and slides forward.

Harry, because he's six, replies, "I don't see your name on it."

But Cisco is triumphant, the clear victor here. He lets go of the cutout abruptly. Harry stumbles back a couple steps, looking surprised. Cisco smiles smugly, satisfaction radiating from every inch of his body.

"Look at the ankles," Cisco invites, and Harry gives him a confused, hesitant look. He nods his head toward the cutout in Harry's hands and bounces on his feet. "Go on, take a look."

Harry looks like he'd rather do anything other than what Cisco has asked him to, but he sets the cutout on the desk, careful not to knock anything off it, and adjusts his glasses as he leans forward. In permanent marker, scrawled across Sleepy Harry's pant leg, is _property of Cisco Ramon / DO NOT TOUCH._ Beneath that, in smaller script, it says _that includes you, Harry Prime_.

Harry uses his best River Tam look on Cisco, all narrowed eyes and 'I can kill you with my brain'. Maybe a year ago Cisco would have been terrified, but now he just finds the effort cute. Still, this is Harry's workshop too, and his hatred of the cutouts may have been funny in the beginning, but Cisco _does_ want him to feel welcome in the labs, deep down. So he sighs and walks over to grab Sleepy Harry and tuck him away in a closet somewhere.

"I'll keep him at home," Cisco promises, and Harry's glare softens slightly. It was all in the eyes, really.

"I still say getting rid of it is the better choice," he grumbled.

"I don't get why you hate them so much," Cisco admitted. "You know we're only having fun, right?"

Harry's lips tighten and he looks away, searching through the mess on the desk. Cisco steps closer to him until their shoulders brush. Harry is tense, his movements sharp and almost angry.

"This is just like when the new guy at CCPD kept calling Barry 'Barney' and we took up the name for a week. It's just teasing, bro," Cisco said, trying to soothe Harry out of his snit. They'd had a lot of fun that week. Harry knew it had all been in good fun, just like this. Frustration crept in. Couldn't Harry understand that their teasing came from a place of affection?

Harry doesn't cease his aimless search, nor does he look at Cisco. He continues to look irritated and grumpy, and while that is his usual default mode, Cisco knows this is like...defcon three on the Harry scale. Cisco rolls his eyes and sighs. Nothing for it: he has to bring out the big guns, the coup de grace.

"It probably wouldn't have lasted so long if you hadn't left," Cisco points out. "Without your grumpy face around to bring us such joy, we had to find our Wells somewhere else."

Harry's movements slow slightly at that. He turns his head just slightly toward Cisco, just enough so his eyes can fix on Cisco without Harry having to face him directly. Cisco wonders, for just a moment, if Harry had been dropped on his head as a child.

"We missed you," he confesses finally, reluctantly. One of the things Cisco likes most about their relationship is that neither has to say the embarrassing things they are thinking. They'd always been so in sync, they just knew. Cisco says, "I'll pop over to Earth-2, throw your things around," and he just knew Harry would hear, "Don't forget about us. We'll miss you."

Harry finally stops messing up Cisco's desk and straightens. He turns to look at Cisco and they stare at one another for a long, drawn out moment. It makes Cisco hyper aware of his body, of the pounding of his heart and the prickle of heat washing over his face. They don't say this kind of stuff, and it feels like Cisco has been pushed to the edge of something, teetering, about to fall.

The moment is broken when Harry looks away. He's smiling, dimples deepening, and Cisco wants to trace the curve of his lips with his fingers, soak in that rare smile. But he steps back, clutching Sleepy Harry to him, and murmurs, "Welcome back," before leaving the room. He'll collect all the cutouts and get rid of them - save two, both of which he has plans for.  
  


*O*

Harry's office on Earth-2 is empty. The thrill of traveling between Earths still hasn't worn off, but Cisco doesn't waste any time indulging in the wonder of it. He takes great care arranging Angry Harry for maximum effect, placing him just inside the door. Anybody coming in will be greeted by Harry's glower, and imagining their faces has Cisco snickering.

Harry might not like the cutouts, but now, when he returns to Earth-2, he has an annoying reminder that his family is waiting for him back home.  
  


*O*

Cisco keeps his word and moves the cutout back to his apartment, where it's mostly safe from Harry's destructive tendencies. Cisco gets overconfident though, because Harry so rarely visits Cisco at his home. Even their movie marathons tend to take place at the lab, where they've converted one of the smaller rooms into a movie lounge of sorts. He forgot that Harry had no concept of politeness, of privacy, and most damning of all, that Cisco gave him keys to his apartment for emergencies.

Cisco situates Sleepy Harry in the living room, where he has space to pace. His first few attempts have been awkward and halting, but he thinks he's getting the hang of asking Harry out. Maybe. He's is completely different from anyone Cisco has asked out before, after all.

"I cannot believe you haven't seen Alien," Cisco says with mock outrage. "This is unconscionable and I will not stand for it. You and me, Saturday night. You bring the popcorn and I'll bring the bitchin' movie." He pauses, frowning. That was hardly clear enough. He tries again.

"You bring the popcorn and I'll bring the bitchin' movie and pretty face," Cisco says confidently, flashing a come hither smile at Sleepy Harry. His smile fades and he groans. "Where are my moves? Where is my _game_?"

He slumps into the chair next to Sleepy Harry, peering up at it sadly. "It'll just be me and you forever, buddy. A man and his cardboard cutout. A tragic love story of a man who can't have what he wants and settles for the fake thing."

"At least that is is one use of these monstrosities I can approve of," Harry says wryly, moving away from the door - which he had unlocked and entered _without knocking_. Cisco startles and dives for the cardboard cutout, his instincts screaming at him to hide the evidence. Cisco follows the impulse, but his momentum carries him over the arm of the chair, and he lands on the floor with an undignified noise. The cardboard cutout, despite Cisco's frenzied movements, rocks a bit but stays upright, in full view.

"What are you doing here?" Cisco moans, voice muffled by the carpet his face is pressed against.

"Looking for you," Harry says calmly, wandering over to loom over Cisco's prone form.

"For what?" Cisco asks, rolling onto his back to look up at him. He has no shame left. He's used it all up. He has negative shame left; less than none. Harry saw him practicing on his cardboard cutout while wearing his Doctor Who pajamas. If Cisco could pick a way for him to look less sexy and appealing, this would probably be it. So he lets himself sprawl out, open and ready for ridicule. Harry kneels down instead, unfairly graceful, within touching distance.

"I had an idea..." Harry begins. When his voice trails off, Cisco risks looking at his face. Harry is staring at his belly, where his shirt has ridden up. Cisco wiggles his hips a little, like he is trying to find a comfortable way to lay, and Harry's staring grows even more intense. His gaze slips from his stomach, to his thighs, where it lingers. Cisco swallows hard, his sprawl feeling less undignified and more like a silent invitation. Harry's gaze slides up, over his chest, and when it reaches Cisco's lips Harry licks his own. Their eyes meet, the air thick with anticipation. Cisco spread his legs a little more and Harry's mouth falls open.

Cisco's heart pounds as he reaches out to touch Harry's knee. When Harry doesn't say anything, Cisco moves his hand higher, stopping at Harry's thigh.

"So," Cisco says, drawing the word out. He isn't at all certain what he will say next, but it becomes a moot point when Harry looms over him, swinging one leg over him until Cisco is beneath him, trapped between his legs while Harry holds himself up. Cisco finds his hand gripping the front of Harry's shirt, trying to reel him in, without consciously deciding to.

"You are a temptation," Harry murmurs, and Cisco shivers at the want in his voice.

"Harry," Cisco whispers. "Stop being a dick and kiss me already."

For once Harry complies, leaning down to kiss Cisco, warm and passionate. Time seems to speed up - Cisco's pants are gone, Harry's zip up hoodie tucked underneath Cisco's head, and Harry is leaving stinging bites down Cisco's neck, over his collarbones. Harry is lying on him now, pressing into him, and Cisco feels pinned down in the best of ways.

Cisco wants to feel more of Harry's skin, but the bastard isn't cooperating, refusing to move his hips so Cisco can peel him out of those baggy jeans. Cisco bites his ear in retaliation, but Harry only moves out of reach, licks at Cisco's nipples until he's whining. Cisco slides his hands from where they are pressed against Harry's back, down over his sides, until his fingers brush the top of Harry's jeans. It's difficult to get his fingers to coordinate when Harry is doing his best to drive Cisco out of his mind, but he at least gets the jeans unbuttoned before Harry is swatting his hands away

With Harry finally peeling those jeans off - god, Cisco is really looking forward to riding him, the long, lean length of him spread out for Cisco to admire, to touch - Cisco wraps a hand around his own dick, keeping his touch deliberately light. He whimpers at how good it feels to have some attention right where he wants it the most, but Harry is having none of that, the controlling asshole, batting Cisco's hands away, pinning them above his head with one hand. It sends a shiver down Cisco's spine and his hips surges up, his arousal burning brighter.

Harry smirks and stretches out over him once again. Cisco spreads his legs and wraps them around Harry's hips. Harry swallows Cisco's gasp in a kiss when their dicks touch, but nothing can keep Cisco quiet when Harry begins to roll his hips. Cisco had never pictured their first time like this, on the floor of his apartment with a perfectly serviceable bed not ten feet away, but somehow it makes the moment more real. Harry moans with every slide of skin against skin, his hips moving faster every time Cisco whimpers. Cisco tilts his head, offering up his neck, and begins to shake.

Harry still has Cisco's hands pinned above his head. Cisco tries to tug his hands down, but Harry's grip remains inescapable, and knowing he can't get free unless Harry lets go is enough to push him over the edge. He comes with a loud moan, spilling all over himself and Harry. Harry gasps when Cisco's cock jerks between them and comes too, adding to the sticky mess.

Harry slides off Cisco only after the aftershocks have slowed. He keeps one leg slung over Cisco's, one hand buried in Cisco's hair. They lay there, catching their breath, until the cool air on their sweaty bodies has them shivering. Harry sits up first and wanders off, returning with a cool washcloth to wipe the mess up. He gives Cisco a hand up and watches as Cisco staggers over to the bed, collapsing on it with a satisfied sigh. He waits expectantly, but Harry remains where he is, watching Cisco wiggle and flop about until he is under the covers, still naked.

"Are you coming or what?" Cisco asks finally, annoyed at being kept waiting. He is man enough to admit he likes a bit of post-coital cuddling. He lifts his head to glare at Harry. Harry approaches the bed in a manner that suggests he is doing it only because Cisco wanted him to. Cisco rolls his eyes and scooches over until they are pressed together, his head on Harry's chest. Harry immediately begins playing with Cisco's hair, unexpectedly soothing gesture.

"Always wanted to touch your hair," Cisco mumbles.

"Oh?" Harry asks. Cisco opens one eye and tilts his head up to find Harry smiling down at him.

"Mmm," Cisco hums. "Looks soft. Curly."

"How observant of you," Harry says, but there is no bite to his words. Cisco presses closer, breathing him in. His heart is steady against Cisco's ear. Sleep tugs at Cisco's consciousness, pulling him in. He's halfway there when Harry releases the lock of hair he had been playing with and curls his hand around Cisco's shoulder.

"Are we - if you might perhaps - what are we doing?" Harry asks, sounding frustrated at his lack of eloquence.

"Sleeping," Cisco replies slowly, a little confused at Harry questioning what should be obvious.

"I meant," Harry says, irritated, "is this a relationship? Can I tell Jesse?"

"Sure," Cisco says easily, though his heart speeds up a little at her possible reaction. "I mean, you're kind of stuck with me now."

"There are worse fates," Harry says dryly, and clicks off the lamp. Cisco presses his smile against Harry's skin, tangles their feet together, and falls asleep between one moment and the next, right at home.  
  


*O*

Cisco doesn't need Sleepy Harry when he gets to see the real thing now, but he can't bring himself to let Harry destroy it, either. He tucks it away and brings it out when Harry visits Jesse on Earth-2, a little embarrassed and a lot lonely.

Harry sets it on fire only once, just a little.


End file.
